On a local level, singing with the Jordanian local slang, they aim at introducing a new genre to the music scene in addition to the only existing one- the Traditional Song.

Autostrad invests in the diversity of its group members to produce rich music that goes beyond the language, place, and individuality barriers.The group members’ collective experiences are present in Autostrad original tunes and expressive lyrics.

Their first albums ”Fe Autostrad” & “Autostrad 2011” gained a wide fan base among the Jordanian youth because it innovatively corresponds to our daily life. The album’s songs are a mix of world tunes and the lyrics are derived from the everyday life of Jordan, Love, financial challenges, and drug abuse are among the topics the group tackles in their music. Autostrad popularity is growing among the Jordanians and regional fans.

Autostrad, based in Amman, strives to reach humans with their happy music and to leave a legacy on the planet.

domenica 20 gennaio 2013

In 1989, Public Enemy’s single "Fight the Power" exploded onto American airways and quickly became one of the greatest songs of hip-hop history and a timeless resistance anthem. The single became a testimony of the ongoing struggle against racism, oppression, and exclusion. While many critics argue that the commercialization of rap has since severed the genre’s the political lifeline, new artists from around the world have carried on its subversive tradition. The Palestinian group Katibe 5, which appears in the Cultures of Resistance feature film, is but one example of this new generation in hip-hop.The members of Katibe 5 see their music as a continuation of Public Enemy’s legacy. The five members, now all in their 20s, have been making music together since their early teens. They grew up in Beirut’s Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp, where over 16,000 refugees reside in an area less than a square mile. The overcrowded camp, which Katibe 5 calls "a small prison," leaves many of its residents with little ambition or hope for the future.

Relations between Palestinian and Lebanese communities are tense. As the Lebanese army continues to battle Palestinian militias, camp residents have been vilified. However, Katibe 5’s fans come from both communities, and their music strives to validate the experiences of their Palestinian fans and to change Lebanese perceptions of the camp’s residents.

The group’s sound is an eclectic mix of American hip-hop, Arabic poetry, and political commentary. They say, "We are part of a revolution - a musical revolution. It's happening here and all over the world. We're the adverb. We come before the verb. We're preparing people for action."

The group adds, "We have a responsibility not just to reflect this life. We're not just Palestinian refugees speaking about our problems, or our lives in the camps, because the problems we face are not only a Palestinian problem. All over the world there are people who are oppressed, people who are incarcerated, people who are suffering."

sabato 19 gennaio 2013

Music of the Intifada is a popular celebration of the current struggle. It points out issues and symbols central to the Palestinian resistance such as the people, the land and freedom. Not only does it summarize Palestinian aspirations but also it reflects the radical social changes that are being brought about by the daily struggle against occupation.

martedì 15 gennaio 2013

Abeer Alzinaty is a hip-hop artist, writer and activist. Born to a Palestinian family inside the Israeli borders, Abeer learned to express herself through art. As Sabreena Da Witch she has performed with the Palestinian hip-hop group DAM and released her own cd, Witches Intifada Mixtape Vol 1. She’s also an R& B performer, performing R&B in Arabic and English since 2000. As an activist, Abeer has participated in various initiatives to support Palestinian children. With two other local Arab Guerilla women she founded a youth club, “Future Seekers,” in their hometown of Lyd to provide children with a place to play and grow. She has also worked in East Jerusalem in the Israeli Women's Lobby as a mentor to young women. Abeer immigrated to the United States in 2007 and is featured in the hip-hop documentary “Slingshot Hip-Hop” (directed by Jackie Salloum), which follows the lives of young Palestinians who pioneered the hip-hop scene in Palestine. In the United States she continues to live and pursue her career as an R&B singer, while at the same time using music to educate audiences about issues of oppression and injustice, not only towards Palestinians but towards women and minorities all over the world.Later she moved to Baltimore in 2010 she published, in complete independence, her first official album entitled "A Woman Under The Influence."

and yet your still struggling to be "allowed"to be free, and have your own flag on your landto celebrate your anthem on your independence dayyour children, women and men still living in you for youthey will die and rise and bring more children to teach your storydon't worry about the olive trees ,that were uprooted from youeach one of us has a tree in their hearts with your villages namesevery refugee among us know where they came from and to where they will returnmy grandmother's house keys are hanged on a hope that the sun will rise upon us

Chorus :

Habibti you are our homeyou were then, and till today you are ushouses were demolished , only stones are leftto the next fight, and for a better house

Palestine you are in our hearts always and foreverthey demolished the house but we wont stopwe will build another

shout out respect to the israeli resistance to soldiers who refuse to use tanks to fight childrenmay elohim (god) give power to jewish people those who are supporting anti-zionisem and fight for freedomits such a bless to know there are some who came to learnthat hate and racism cusses more hate and ugly wars its not easy to fight the ignorance of the majorityof stupid israelis and bullies from other countries

man I'm lucky to be born a palestinianlet history witness how strong are arab womenwe are nor represented by governors and princes and sheiks we are represented by the saleswomen in the old city of jerusalemand the women in the streets of beirut

Chorus repeat

these lines are dedicated to the arabs and the foreigners who defend us with usto the fighters in jenin and the bodies in Qanato all the paintings on surfaces which no-one seeto the music that takes us years to release

to foreigners who volunteer in the west bankto the iranian rapper who blessed me with this trackto you! for raising my flag in Americaone day you will see it proud in Lyd and Akka to women who taught me you can rise after you hideto the love of my friends that never left my sideto all artists who sing for the struggle all aroundyou and me together hand in hand we will bring this wall down!!

lunedì 14 gennaio 2013

Ahmad Al Khatib was born in Jordan in 1974 into a family of Palestinian refugees. He began to learn the oud from an early age, taking lessons with the Palestinian master Ahmad Abdel Qasem, and went on to study music and cello at Yarmouk University in Jordan. After graduating in 1997 he moved to Ramallah in Palestine, where he taught in the Oriental Music Department at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. He later went on to head the Department and in 1999 he joined several other Conservatory teachers to form the Karloma ensemble to "explore and experiment with arranging and performing Eastern music styles in different ways". Forced to leave Palestine in 2002 due to the political situation, Ahmad continued to promote the work of the Conservatory overseas and also produced a series of oud instruction books and transcriptions of Arab classical works. In 2004 he settled in Sweden, where began to study for a Master's degree in Musical Eduation Methodology at the University of Gothenburg, and the following year saw the release of his first solo oud CD, 'Sada'. Ahmad is currently a lecturer at the University's Academy of Music and Drama, where he teaches modal music, composition theory and ensemble music. He also performs regularly in Europe and the Middle East, and his latest project is Double Duo with UK-based oud player Khyam Allami and percussionists Youssef Hbeisch and Andrea Piccioni.

Born and bred in Alexandria, Donia Massoud left for Cairo at the age of 21, alone and independent, to the outrage and chagrin of her family. After a number of experiences on stage, both singing and acting, Massoud began a three-year journey searching for and documenting folk poetry and music. She traveled the length and breadth of the country, from Suez to Upper Egypt, to learn and study the musical repertoires of ordinary people.

On her return, she founded her own independent troupe of musicians, with whom she now tours Europe, Asia and Africa performing Egyptian folkloric songs. She also joined both the Fathi Salama group and Al- Warsha troupe, which gave her a way to be in touch with local audiences.

All she has to do is step on stage, alone, and she takes on a very special character of her own -- a style she herself describes as "a coquettishness reminiscent of Shadia and Soaad Hosni [two legends of Egyptian cinema] as they were in the 1940s and 1950s."

domenica 13 gennaio 2013

DAM (Arabic: دام‎; Hebrew: דאם‎) is the first Palestinian hip hop group. Based in Israel, DAM was founded in 1999 by brothers Tamer and Suhell Nafar and their friend Mahmoud Jreri. The group's name is the Arabic verb for "to last forever/eternity" (دام) and the Hebrew word for "blood" (דם), but can also be an acronym for "Da Arabic MCs." The Arabic word for "blood" (دم) is spelled similarly, but without an alif. The group is one of the main subjects of the documentary Slingshot Hip Hop. DAM rhymes primarily in Arabic, but it also rhymes in English and Hebrew to widen its audience appeal. Despite not having a formal recording contract, DAM's 2001 single "Meen Erhabe?"—"Who's the Terrorist?"—was downloaded more than a million times from its web site. It is a controversial song regarding the Al-Aqsa Intifada and what the group perceived as Israel's barbaric methods of dealing with it.

In 2004 DAM released a single called "Born Here" in Arabic and Hebrew. The song was released with a videoclip directed by Juliano Mer-Khamis and produced by the mixed cities in Israel organization Shatil.

DAM completed its first album, Dedication, in 2006 and is featured in the documentary film Slingshot Hip Hop, directed by Jackie Salloum, about the emerging Palestinian hip hop scene.

DAM initially performed in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, winning many fans among both Palestinians and Israelis. Since then, DAM's music gained the attention of European and American audiences, and the group performed in the United States, England, Germany, Italy, and several other countries, making four European tours.

The group collaborated with Israeli rock band Shotei Hanevuah on the song "Generations Demand Peace." They appeared on Al Jazeera's program From Washington on June 4, 2007, during a report on Arabic hip hop.

The group's lyrics often deal with the frustration at the feeling of being second-class citizens in Israel and other issues familiar to hip hop fans around the world, including drug-related violence. The group's live performances feature images of Israeli soldiers clashing with stone-throwing Palestinians.After 5 years of performing and touring and participating in other Artists' projects, DAM decided to release the first single from their future album "Nudbok Al Amar – Dabka on the Moon". The name of the first single is "Risale min Zinzane - A Letter from the Cell", they featured in the song Trio Joubran and Bachar Marcell Khalifa. During the writing process of the song, DAM met with Addameer organization a few times to collect information, personal stories and letters so they can create three fictional characters that will be based on true stories. The song was suppose to be released with the album but after the Palestinians prisoners hunger strike DAM decided to release the unfinished version to support the prisoners. Other unofficial singles where released to the net by fans, songs from shows such as their first English song "Mama, I fell in love with a Jew" a funny story about an Arab guy who get stocked in the elevator with a beautiful Jewish girl and they fell in love, the difference is that in the elevator the girl was going up and the Arab guy was going down, a sarcastic view on the Co Existence that Israel is trying to promote, the massage of the song is Existence before Co Existence . Another song of the upcoming album is "Shi'r al Share' – Street Poetry" a club song with an Arabic pop sound composed and arranged by the Danish producer Billy Beautiful, the song is canceling the politicians and giving the leader role to the Artist, the true voice of the streets.The track “If I Could Go Back in Time” is the second single from the new album " Dabke on the Moon" , is a collaboration with the Palestinian singer Amal Murkus. The track has already won serious international praise for drawing attention to the brutal realities of “honor killing.” Rapped in Arabic, the verses tell the story of a young woman murdered by her family for refusing an arranged marriage. Reminiscent of Nas’ “Rewind,” the track and video—produced in collaboration with U.N. Women (also known as The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women)—depict the subject’s life story in reverse. The track is right in line with DAM’s reputation for using rap to protest all shades of oppression, whether it’s sexism, racism or the Israeli occupation.

venerdì 11 gennaio 2013

Khaled Jubran is a composer and a master of Buzuq and Oud. He studied music composition and theory at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem where he later worked as a teacher. In 1993 he founded and headed the Arabic music department in the Palestinian National Conservatory in Ramallah (Edward Said Conservatory). In 2000 he founded Al Urmawi Center for Mashreq Music which he currently leads. Al Urmawi Center works to promote excellence and innovation in Arabic music and to develop the skills and knowledge of young Arab musicians. Khaled Jubran has three music albums: Em El Khelkhal (2000) , Psalms (2005) and Bridge (2008)